Valley Yarns Shay Cap Sleeve Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Shay Cap Sleeve Pullover

What is Being Made

The Shay Cap Sleeve Pullover is a knitted sweater designed by Kirsten Hipsky, featuring a classic pullover silhouette with cap sleeves. This garment is available in five finished sizes ranging from 34" to 42" across the bust, making it suitable for a range of body measurements. The sweater combines a fitted waist with strategic shaping for a flattering, tailored fit.

Construction Method and Techniques

This pullover is worked flat on straight or circular needles and constructed using a bottom-up approach, meaning the body is knitted from the cast-on edge upward. The garment is seamed together after individual pieces are completed. The construction begins with the back and front panels, which are worked separately and later joined.

The sweater incorporates waist shaping through strategic decreases and increases: decreases are worked at the beginning and end of rows to create a narrower waist, followed by increases to expand the hip area. This shaping occurs every 16th or 18th row depending on size, creating an hourglass silhouette.

Cable work is a prominent design feature, with a cable panel positioned on the front of the sweater between placed markers. The cable panel is worked simultaneously with stockinette stitch sections, requiring careful stitch management and the use of a cable needle to create the twisted rope-like texture.

Stitches Used

• Twisted Rib: Used for the ribbed cuff at the lower edge, worked for 4 rows to create a stretchy, textured band that provides shape retention
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout the body, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric
• Cable Stitches: A decorative cable panel on the front, worked between markers using a cable needle to cross stitches and create dimensional texture
• Wrap and Turn (W&T): Mentioned in the abbreviations, this technique is used for short-row shaping to create smooth transitions in fitted areas

Materials and Tools

This pattern calls for Valley Yarns Amherst, a 100% merino wool yarn available in the color Light Gray. The yardage requirement is 5 to 7 skeins depending on the finished size, with each skein containing 50 grams and 109 yards of yarn.

Needles required include US size 6 and US size 8 circular needles in both 24" and 16" lengths, or the size needed to obtain proper gauge. A cable needle is essential for manipulating stitches during cable work. The recommended gauge is 16 stitches and 24 rows per 4 inches when measured in stockinette stitch using the larger needles, ensuring the finished garment achieves the intended dimensions and drape.

Garment Details

The back and front pieces begin with a cast-on of 68 to 84 stitches depending on size. After the twisted rib cuff, the body is worked in stockinette stitch with waist shaping that decreases then increases for a contoured fit. The armhole is shaped through bind-offs and decreases, and shoulder shaping is achieved through successive bind-offs at the beginning of rows. The finished sweater length from cast-on to armhole is 15 to 16 inches depending on size, with armhole depth measuring 7.5 to 8 inches.